Archive for republican obstructionists – Page 2

David Lazarus's column in the Los Angeles Times examines the so-called lies that President Obama told when he promised that if you like your health care insurance policy, it won't change. Lazarus opines that he did not lie at all, but more like misspoke, omitted, or as Lazarus worded it, "to put it charitably" he "oversold" the details of the Affordable Care Act.

He explains why he and others wouldn't call that lying, but he also points out something that most commentators haven't: President Obama's critics have told a few whoppers of their own, "serious" ones, and aren't being called out for them:

[T]he shapers of the Affordable Care Act assumed that people would jump at the chance to receive better coverage at a better price.

They didn't factor in the idea that some people, because of either ignorance or stubbornness, would remain loyal to their old plans, regardless of how much they could improve things under Obamacare. [...]

So, yes, the president wasn't as clear as he should have been. You can call him a liar if you want. But I see a clear difference between not offering the full story and making stuff up out of whole cloth.

I mean, it's not as if he publicly insisted that so-called death panels would decide people's medical treatment, or that most small businesses would be crippled by the reform law or that the government is taking over the entire healthcare system.

That's what his critics have been saying.

Those are some serious lies.

And the worst part is, way too many people bought into the destructive lies told by those critics.

So Scotty, explain to all those families exactly what contingency plans you have if Obamacare enrollment is still glitchy, or if the federal government makes your plan impossible to implement. 77,000-plus inquiring minds want to know.

Because, see, there's a time gap that will affect people who will lose their BadgerCare (Medicaid) eligibility but would then have to meet the deadline to enroll in the Affordable Care Act via the marketplace.

Wisconsin health care advocates want Gov. Scott Walker to say what will happen with 77,000 adults being shifted off Medicaid in January if they are not able to get coverage through the new health insurance exchange in time. [...]

In late September, the state notified 77,000 people, most of them parents, that they might be affected. But letters letting people know for sure won’t be sent until Nov. 23, when the state expects to be ready to use new federal criteria to determine eligibility. [...]

In late September, the state notified 77,000 people, most of them parents, that they might be affected. But letters letting people know for sure won’t be sent until Nov. 23, when the state expects to be ready to use new federal criteria to determine eligibility.

Just in time for the holidays! Which party is waging a "War on Christmas" again?

Republicans' approval ratings of Congress edged up to 12% from 6% in January, while Democrats' ratings also were up slightly, from 15% to 19%. [...]

The overall average for congressional job approval since Gallup began measuring it almost 40 years ago is 33%, meaning that Congress' image is in significantly worse shape now than it has been throughout most of the last four decades.

"Obama has been offering to reduce spending on Social Security and Medicare for two years now, in return for Republican agreement to spread the burden of the fiscal adjustment. They won't take the deal... if Republicans want to reform their party's identity and make it into something other than absolutist advocacy of low taxes for the rich, they need to come up with some negotiating position on fiscal issues other than 'no tax hikes for the rich of any kind no matter what we get in return.'"